How do I know if my Chihuahau pregnant

[Dorrie713]

Hello,
I own a male 3 yr old Chihuahua. I was interested in buying a Chihuahua Puppy but when I was talking to a friend of mine that has a Female 3 yr old Chihuahua she asked if I would breed them. I read up on it and agreed to.

I picked her up three weeks ago and she had just stopped bleeding. She was moving her tail out of the way to let the male enter but he was having a hard time getting in right.

I was told to watch them due to the fact that they could get LOCKED together and might get hurt trying to seperate. WELLLLLLL, I went in for a shower thinking they were in seperate rooms but the male got into the females room. When I got there they were not connected but her back was wet and she wouldn't let anyone go near her. For about three or four days no one could touch her at all. I took her to the vet and he did an exam. He said he thought she sprained her back mostlikely trying to get away from the male. He could not tell yet if she was actually pregnant or if it didn't take this time.

Now it is three weeks later and I have no idea what I should be looking for to tell me if she is. The woman at the vets office told me to feel her stomach for small marble like balls. I do that but I don't know if what I am feeling is supposed to be there or if it is in fact puppies.

The dr said in a couple more weeks they could do an ultrasound to find out. But I worry about putting her through that if she isn't even pregnant.

She is not the nicest dog in the world and has had a hard life up to this point. I am trying to change her with lots of love and cuddling but she won't let me get too close yet. we are gettig there!!

thanks for any help you can give me
Dorrie

[erdog3]

Well a good way to tell, but unfortunately it can be same for a phantom pregnancy is to have a look at her vulva, if it is still swollen like when she was on heat, it's a good bet she is either of the above.
Have your vets never performed a blood test for pregnancy, In Oz I know this is available, from about the 2nd week.

[pittiegurl]

What you really need at this point. IS TO GET YOUR DOG NEUTERED!!!!!!It will be better for his health & he will live a longer happier life if he is neutered. BE KIND SPAY & NEUTER YOUR PETS!!

[ July 09, 2004, 11:59 PM: Message edited by: pittiegurl ]

[Dorrie713]

HI there...
thank you for your opinion on getting my dog fixed. I appreciate your input. However, that was not my question.

Thank You

[Dorrie713]

I have checked her for swelling but I don't know what the normal size for her is. My vet said at the time I took her to him that it was still a little swollen but that that could just be from being in heat.

Thank you so much for your reply. It helps to know that there are people out there willing to help someone out. There are so many judgemental people in this world, as if they never did anything like this. Ya know I am all for fixing your pet and keeping the population down, however, I don't think people need to be rude about it.

SO once again I thank you for your reply.

[erdog3]

If you look at the vulva it should be almost flat with the body in a dog not in heat or pregnant. This sounds a bit rude, but look at the anus, it shouldn't be much bigger than that.
Now look at her vulva, if it looks much much bigger then it is as I stated in my other post.
Your welcome with the help, I am not here to judge, for all I know your dog could be of champion bloodlines that you show regularly.
Pittiegirl, it would pay to get some facts first before you judge.
I am a breeder of Labradors are trying to say that I sould do the same. Please don't start another world war 3 on the forum.

[Dorrie713]

Thank you Ellierat. I am going to go and check her to see if she is still swollen. Your information is very helpful.

You are right it isn't for anyone to judge me. My dogs aren't show material. But they make a great match and will make wonderful puppies. I just wish that I had taken more time before they got together.

And once she has this litter of puppies they will both be fixed. Just an FYI. I do know that the world is OVER POPULATED with dogs and cats. IF I didn't already have a home for the puppies she may be carrying I could understand people getting the wrong idea and YELLING at me. However, none of you know me. You know it seems that breeders aren't always that nice and helpful. I had asked another breeder the same question and she yelled at me for about 3 pages full. Is it cuz they are afraid of the compition??? Why is it Ok that breeders keep breeding the dogs but when someone wants to start breeding we get yelled at and told we are terrible pet owners.

Sorry I didn't mean to dump all of that on you. You have been great!! Thank you so much for your kindness and helpful info.

[weimlover0816]

i don't think it is that the breeders are afraid of competition, it is that most have a dedication to the breed. I say most because many are what are considered to be "backyard breeders" who are in it for the money and breed dogs that aren't show quality. Breeding should be about "bettering the breed" and as many of us here know and have stated, breeding dogs that do not have champion bloodlines and are not champions themselves is selfish and unfair. Did you have the history/pedigree of the dogs that were bred? What are the health problems that are normally associated with the breed? Do the dogs you bred have these problems in their lineage? Are you ready to be responsible for the pups even after they have been sold? Responsible breeders have a vested interest in all of their pups, forever. If in 5 years one of you pups is no longer wanted buy the owner for any reason, are you ready to take that pup back? DO you know enough about the breed to find good homes for the pups?

I hate to be accusatory and attacking, and that is why I have not posted on this thread before this. I do not know you or your dogs...but after you stated that they weren't "show material" I felt like speaking up. I am not a breeder and don't intend to be.... I am just a true lover of dogs. I hope that you will have the dogs spayed/neutered after this litter and if the female is not pregnant this time, I hope that you get them fixed ASAP and do not attempt to breed again. Good luck to you.

[erdog3]

As Weimlover has stated, sometimes it's not so much that other breeders don't want you to breed, some would be outraged some not, I had a lady bought a male puppy from me, then ran it over, so I replaced it for free (I know, more money than sense somedays) cause as it turns out she emailed me a week ago to tell me she is getting into breeding. Not that it really matters, but I wish she would have been honest from the start. It made me feel a little cheated, if you can understand that.
There can be many factors that come into breeding, from genetic faults to personality traits in a dog, and it takes years to see the problems, and make sure you only breed from sound stock.
There are many debates over mutts to purebreds, some even stating that a lot of faults paramount in the purebreeds is the closeness of the lines.
So I guess a lot of breeders would be up in arms with you, as they would feel you rushed into it without researching first.
But when it comes down to it, you dog is possibly pregnant, you asked for advise, I gave it, and still would, I don't like to judge, but if I see something that is so stupid it isn't worth comment I will say so.(referring to another topic).
You will probably have quite a few things happen if she is pregnant and it is better to give you the advise and be at least prepared, than to get nasty and shut you out, I am not like that.
One thing that comes to mind is she is a small breed, most small breeds end up with C sections.
Just a common thing with these dogs, not always but a possibility you need to be prepared for.
Cheers Ellierat.

[sgour]

Another sign to look for is enlarged teats. My girls stayed enlarged after her heat until now (they are still large, but she is nursing [img]smile.gif[/img] ). At about 4 1/2 weeks she had a clear discharge that continued through her whole pregnancy. This I was told (thank you ellierat) was a sure sign of a true pregnancy not a phantom.

And as ellierat told you, small dogs often need C-section, especially if the male was larger than the female.

Good Luck.

Shannon